The total value of loans in local currency was EGP 111.2bn for the month of November 2012, as opposed to EGP 110.2bn in October 2012. During the same period, loans made in foreign currency increased from EGP 2.3bn to EGP 2.4bn.
Magdi Abd Al-Ghafar, president of the retail banking department for one of Egypt’s private banks, said that this increase was to be expected considering recent rises in the rate of inflation and the price of goods. He added that most people’s salaries were not enough to cover these increases costs.
He added that an increase in demand for personal loans was inevitable and necessary for citizens to close the gap between the now-increased price of goods and their salaries.
Abd Al-Ghafar expected demand for loans to decrease over the next two months, only to pick up later in April and May, coinciding with the onset of summer
